Hugh Roe O'Donnell
Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use dmy datesTemplate:Use Hiberno-English Template:Infobox royalty
Hugh Roe O'Donnell IITemplate:Efn (Template:Langx; Template:Circa 20 October 1572 – 30 August 1602),Template:EfnTemplate:Efn also known as Red Hugh O'Donnell, was an Irish clan chief and senior leader of the Irish confederacy during the Nine Years' War.
He was born into the powerful O'Donnell clan of Tyrconnell (present-day County Donegal). By the age of fourteen, he was recognised as his clan's tanist (heir) and engaged to the daughter of prominent lord Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone. The English-led Irish government feared this alliance would threaten their control over Ulster, so Lord Deputy John Perrot had O'Donnell kidnapped by wine merchants at Rathmullan in 1587. After four years' imprisonment in Dublin Castle, O'Donnell escaped in December 1591 with the help of Tyrone's bribery, and was subsequently inaugurated as clan chief at Kilmacrennan on 23 April 1592.
Along with his father-in-law Tyrone, O'Donnell led a confederacy of Irish lords during the Nine Years' War, motivated to prevent English incursions into their territory and to end Catholic persecution under Queen Elizabeth I. Throughout the war, O'Donnell expanded his territory into Connacht by launching raids against successive Lord Presidents Richard Bingham and Conyers Clifford. O'Donnell led the confederacy to victory at the Battle of Curlew Pass. In 1600, he suffered various military and personal losses. His cousin Niall Garbh defected to the English, which greatly emboldened commander Henry Docwra's troops and forced O'Donnell out of Tyrconnell.
After a crushing defeat at the Siege of Kinsale, O'Donnell travelled to Habsburg Spain to acquire reinforcements from King Philip III. The promised reinforcements were continually postponed, and whilst preparing for a follow-up meeting with the king, O'Donnell died of a sudden illness at the Castle of Simancas, aged 29. His body was buried inside the Chapel of Wonders at the Convent of St. Francis in Valladolid. O'Donnell's premature death disheartened an already withering Irish resistance; Tyrone ended the Nine Years' War in 1603 with the Treaty of Mellifont.
Fiercely anti-English and militarily aggressive, O'Donnell is considered a folk hero and a symbol of Irish nationalism. He has drawn comparisons to El Cid and William Wallace.<ref name="HI">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2020, an unsuccessful archaeological dig for his remains drew international media attention. Since 2022, the city has annually reenacted his 1602 funeral procession in period costumes.
Early life
Family background
Hugh Roe O'Donnell was born Template:Circa 20 October 1572,Template:Efn the eldest son of Irish lord Hugh McManus O'Donnell and his second wife, Scottish aristocrat Fiona "Iníon Dubh" MacDonald. He was born into the ruling branch of the O'Donnell clan, a Gaelic Irish noble dynasty based in Tyrconnell,Template:Sfnm a kingdom geographically associated with present-day County Donegal.Template:Sfn He had three younger brothers, Rory, Manus and Cathbarr (in order of age), and several sisters, Nuala, Margaret and Mary. He also had older half-siblings from his father's previous relationships,Template:Sfn including Donal and Siobhán.Template:Sfnm
Paternally O'Donnell claimed descent, via the lineage of Conall Gulban of the Cenél Conaill, from the semi-legendary High King Niall of the Nine Hostages.Template:Sfn Through his mother, O'Donnell was a descendant of the first six Scottish Chiefs of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg; and from Somerled, the first Lord of the Isles. He was also descended from King of Scots Robert the Bruce and his grandson Robert II, the first Stuart king of Scotland.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Citation</ref>Template:Chart top Template:Tree chart/start Template:Tree chart Template:Tree chart/end Template:Tree chart/start Template:Tree chart Template:Tree chart Template:Tree chart Template:Tree chart Template:Tree chart Template:Tree chart Template:Tree chart Template:Tree chart Template:Tree chart Template:Tree chart/end Template:Tree chart/start Template:Tree chart Template:Tree chart/end Template:Tree chart/start Template:Tree chart Template:Tree chart/end Template:Tree chart/start
Template:Tree chart/end Template:Chart bottomHugh Roe O'Donnell's father, Hugh McManus, had ruled as clan chief and Lord of Tyrconnell since 1566.<ref>Template:Harvnb. "...the title of king was no longer used in their annalist obits by the end of the reign of Aodh Dubh (reign 1505-37)"; Template:Harvnb, 1st paragraph: Hugh McManus ruled Tyrconnell since 1566.</ref> In 1569, Hugh McManus married Iníon Dubh of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg, as part of a marriage alliance which gave the O'Donnell clan access to the formidable Scottish mercenary forces known as Redshanks.Template:Sfnm Iníon Dubh pushed the O'Donnell clan further into opposition with the English,Template:Sfn and in 1574 the clan established an alliance with ascendant O'Neill clansman Hugh O'Neill (future Earl of Tyrone) through his marriage to Siobhán.Template:Sfnm
Education and fosterage
The Franciscan friars at Donegal Abbey were the spiritual counselors of the ruling O'Donnells, and were also the educators of the dynasty's children.<ref name="dddd">Template:Citation</ref> In medieval Ireland, the sons of Irish clan chiefs were typically trained from the age of seven in horse-riding and weaponry.Template:Sfn
Children of the Gaelic Irish nobility were traditionally fostered to fellow clans in the hopes of developing political alliances.Template:Sfn Hugh Roe O'Donnell was fostered by four families of differing political alignments: Clans Sweeney na dTuath and O'Cahan, as well as two rival O'Donnell branches led by Hugh McHugh Dubh O'Donnell and Conn O'Donnell.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn Conn's father Calvagh was a prior ruler of Tyrconnell, and Hugh Roe was removed from his care when he turned against Hugh McManus in 1581.Template:Sfn Conn died two years later and Hugh Roe's succession seemed assured.Template:Sfnm Nevertheless, Conn's sons, particularly Niall Garbh, looked to the English government as a means of restoring their branch of the family to power.Template:Sfn By 1587, Hugh Roe was in the care of Owen Óg MacSweeney na dTuath, his final foster-father, who gave him much independence.Template:Sfn
Ultimately Hugh Roe's fosterage did not engender much loyalty in his foster-families. Hugh McHugh Dubh antagonised the ruling O'Donnells into the 1590s, and the sons of MacSweeney na dTuath and Conn eventually opposed Hugh Roe by defecting to the English.Template:Sfn
Rise to prominence
O'Donnell saw his first military action in 1584 along with his father's chief advisor Eoin O'Gallagher against Clan O'Rourke of West Breifne.Template:Sfn Even before reaching the age of fifteen, O'Donnell had become well known across Ireland. He became associated with Aodh Eangach, a prophesied high king.Template:Sfn It was foretold that if two men named Hugh succeeded each other as O'Donnell chief, the last Hugh shall "be a monarch in Ireland and quite banish thence all foreign nations and conquerors".Template:Sfn
By 1587, O'Donnell was betrothed to the Earl of Tyrone's daughter Rose.Template:Sfn In addition to Tyrone's marriage to Siobhán, this betrothal further cemented a growing alliance between two clans who had been mortal enemies for centuries.Template:Sfn As tanist (heir) of the O'Donnell clan, Hugh Roe O'Donnell was widely considered to be his father's most likely successor.Template:Sfn Tyrone described him as "the stay that his father had for the quieting of his inhabitance".Template:Sfn
Imprisonment and escape
Capture at Rathmullan
The English government feared the emergence of a powerful O'Neill-O'Donnell alliance, which would be cemented by O'Donnell's marriage to Rose, would threaten English control over Ulster.Template:Sfnm Though Tyrone professed loyalty to the Crown, he was attracting suspicion from the government due to his growing power. O'Donnell's father had also failed to pay his promised annual rents, and hostages were often kept for policy reasons. Ultimately the government decided that O'Donnell must not be allowed to succeed as clan chief.Template:SfnmTemplate:Efn In May 1587, Lord Deputy John Perrot proposed to Lord Burghley that he could capture O'Donnell or his parents by sending a boat with wines.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In September, Hugh McManus was summoned to a conference with Perrot.Template:Sfn Meanwhile the ship Matthew, captained by Dublin merchant Nicholas Barnes, was dispatched to Rathmullan on Lough Swilly,Template:Sfnm where fourteen-year-old Hugh Roe O'Donnell was sojourning with his foster-father MacSweeney na dTuath.<ref name="mcg2004"/>Template:Efn The ship was anchored and the crew went on shore under the guise of ordinary merchants selling wine. O'Donnell heard of the merchant ship and arrived with several young companions. Barnes claimed he had no wine left unsold except for what was left on the ship, and invited O'Donnell aboard.Template:Sfn Chief Donnell MacSweeney Fanad (O'Donnell's host) was ashamed the young noble had missed out on the wine and unwittingly encouraged him to take a small boat to the Matthew.Template:Sfnm
Chief MacSweeney Fanad, Chief MacSweeney na dTuath and Eoin O'Gallagher accompanied O'Donnell onto the Matthew.Template:Sfn Once on board, O'Donnell and his compatriots were conducted into a secured cabin and plied with food and wine. Whilst they were enjoying themselves, the hatches were fastened and their weapons were removed.Template:Sfn MacSweeney Fanad, MacSweeney na dTuath and O'Gallagher were released, each in exchange for giving a young family member as a hostage.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn Hostages were offered in O'Donnell's stead to no avail.Template:Sfn
Imprisonment
O'Donnell arrived in Dublin on 25 September; Queen Elizabeth I was informed the next day.<ref name="source">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn The four hostages were imprisoned in Dublin Castle, most likely in one of the gate towers.Template:Sfn Within three months, Tyrone was lobbying the queen for O'Donnell's release.Template:Sfn In 1588, he offered a bribe of £1000 to William FitzWilliam, Perrot's successor as Lord Deputy, plus £300 to newly-appointed officials. Tyrone was later accused of offering a further £1000 to Dublin Castle's constable.Template:Sfnm In spring 1588, Iníon Dubh offered Perrot a bribe of £2000 plus sureties and hostages for her son's release.Template:Sfn After the Spanish Armada's September 1588 shipwreck in Inishowen, Hugh McManus unsuccessfully offered the government thirty captured Spanish officers in exchange for his son.Template:Sfn In 1590, FitzWilliam indicated a willingness to release O'Donnell, but this came to naught.Template:Sfn
During his time in Dublin Castle, O'Donnell had little interaction with the outside world beyond conversations with fellow political prisoners, particularly the Anglo-Irish Munster lords imprisoned during the Desmond Rebellions.Template:Sfn Witnessing first-hand the brutality inflicted by the Dublin government on Irish rebels, he became embittered and distrustful of English authority.Template:Sfnm Ironically, O'Donnell learnt English during his imprisonment,Template:Sfn though commissioners reported in March 1593 he "could hardly speak it".Template:Sfn This period in Dublin is seen as the defining event of his short life.Template:Sfn
O'Donnell's imprisonment, coupled with his father's premature senility,Template:Sfnm exacerbated a long-running succession dispute which had consumed Tyrconnell since October 1580.Template:Sfn Iníon Dubh effectively took over Tyrconnell and ruled in her husband's name, pushing for O'Donnell's succession by spreading the Aodh Eangach prophecy. On her orders, her redshanks killed challengers Hugh MacEdegany and Donal O'Donnell in 1588 and 1590 respectively.Template:Sfnm She also bought off Niall Garbh with a political marriage to her daughter Nuala in an effort to temper his hostility.Template:Sfnm Further disruptions developed as the government appointed various administrators who pillaged Tyrconnell, such as William Mostian, John Connill and Humphrey Willis.Template:Sfn In 1594, O'Donnell estimated Tyrconnell had suffered £20,000 worth of damages (equivalent to £5,500,000 in May 2025).Template:Sfn This chaos created mass resentment towards the English government,Template:Sfn even from the typically pro-English portion of the population.Template:Sfn
First escape attempt
O'Donnell made his first escape attempt in January 1591 with a number of companions.Template:SfnmTemplate:Efn It is possible the escape was incentivised by news of Donal's death.Template:Sfn Before O'Donnell and his companions were put in their cells one night, they escaped through a nearby window and climbed down a rope onto the drawbridge. They jammed a block of timber into the door, preventing the guards from pursuing them. By the time the guards noticed O'Donnell's absence and gave chase, the fugitives had already escaped past the open city gates.Template:Sfn
O'Donnell's shoes fell apart and he was left behind by his companions in the thick woods beyond Three Rock Mountain. He sent word to Castlekevin in County Wicklow, the territory of Chief Felim O'Toole, who had visited him in Dublin Castle. O'Toole wanted to assist O'Donnell but faced pressure from his clan, who feared the consequences of aiding a high profile fugitive. O'Toole's sister Rose quickly planned for her husband Fiach McHugh O'Byrne, Chief of Clan O'Byrne, to take O'Donnell to his house in Glenmalure. According to O'Sullivan Beare, O'Byrne and his clansmen immediately set out to rescue O'Donnell, but their inability to cross a flooded river prevented them from reaching Castlekevin in time. English officer George Carew was dispatched to Castlekevin on 15 January and O'Donnell was surrendered and returned to Dublin Castle in chains.Template:Sfn O'Donnell was lodged in Dublin Castle's record towerTemplate:Sfn (the Bermingham Tower)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> shackled more heavily than before,Template:Sfn and checked by the chief gaoler twice a day.Template:Sfn
Second escape attempt
In late December 1591,Template:Efn O'Donnell made a successful escape attempt with his fellow prisoners Henry MacShane O'Neill and Art MacShane O'Neill.Template:Sfnm After years of lobbying and bribery,Template:Sfnm Tyrone had finally succeeded in bribing officials to help facilitate O'Donnell's escape.Template:Sfn The highly corruptTemplate:Sfnm FitzWilliam was most likely the recipient of this bribe, though this has never been conclusively proven. In summer 1590, Conn MacShane O'Neill alleged Tyrone "did lay down a plot and practised the escape of Hugh Roe" from prison—the plot apparently involved a silk rope and prepared horses. This is obviously a reference to some previous attempt, but is an accurate forecast of O'Donnell's eventually successful escape.Template:Sfn
In comparison to O'Donnell's first escape, which appeared to be entirely his own doing,<ref name="mcg2004"/> considerable effort went into the preparation of the second escape plan. The constable of Dublin Castle John Maplesden was on his deathbed, which distracted the chief gaoler from his duties and made it the perfect time to mount an escape. O'Byrne promised shelter for the fugitives at Glenmalure.Template:Sfn Edward Eustace, a gaoler's servant and stable boy who visited O'Donnell in the castle, was prepared to act as a guide.<ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref>Template:Efn Richard Weston, a servant of Tyrone, managed to supply O'Donnell with a silk rope,Template:Sfn and winter clothes were acquired for the long journey.Template:Sfn
When the three prisoners were unshackled to eat, they took advantage of the gaolers.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn The prisoners made their way to the privy house, tying one end of the rope there, and feeding the other end down the privy hole which led outside the castle.Template:Sfn Intentionally or not, Henry became separated from the others.Template:Efn Once outside the castle, O'Donnell and Art MacShane met with Eustace who guided them through the dark Dublin streets. The trio mixed in with the crowds and safely escaped the city on foot.Template:Sfnm
In their hurry, the fugitives left their winter clothes in prison. O'Donnell's shoes became worn out, exposing him to the elements. Art MacShane had to be carried by the others, either because he had grown fat and unfit in prison,Template:Sfn or possibly due to an injury from his fall through the privy hole. The trio made it into the Wicklow Mountains and sought shelter in a cave,Template:Sfn said to be located along the slopes of Conavalla.<ref name="irishexaminer.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> O'Donnell and Art MacShane were too weak to reach Glenmalure, so Eustace left them in the cave and went on ahead to get help.Template:Sfn According to O'Sullivan Beare, O'Donnell managed to survive for three nights by eating leaves and bark, but despite his pleas, Art MacShane could not eat.Template:Sfn When O'Byrne's men arrived to rescue them, O'Donnell and Art MacShane were near death. Art MacShane died of hypothermia and was buried on the mountainside. O'Donnell was taken to Glenmalure where he spent a few days recovering.Template:Sfn
Unusually, the state papers do not mention either of O'Donnell's prison escapes until he had returned to Ulster in early 1592. This could point to corruption or embarrassment on the part of government officials.Template:Sfn In a letter to Lord Burghley, FitzWilliam attempted to vindicate himself by declaring he had sacked Maplesden (who died "within a day or two" after the escape) and imprisoned the chief gaoler.Template:Sfn<ref name="1588to1592">Template:Cite book</ref> An outraged Queen Elizabeth I wrote to statesman Thomas Burgh in May 1592, pronouncing that O'Donnell had escaped through bribery and requesting an investigation into the matter.Template:Sfn
Accession as clan chief
Return to Ulster
Template:Further O'Donnell and O'Byrne swore mutual oaths to assist the other in rebellion, and the former promised to make Tyrone and Chief Hugh Maguire of Fermanagh swear similar oaths.Template:Sfn Once Tyrone's emissary, Turlough Boye O'Hagan, arrived to escort O'Donnell back to Ulster, they set out immediately.Template:Sfn O'Donnell's feet were frostbitten so he had to be lifted off and onto his horse.<ref name="mcg2004">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This journey took O'Donnell back through the Pale.Template:Sfn He stayed one night in Mellifont at the house of Anglo-Irish ally Garret Moore, before reaching Tyrone's residence at Dungannon,Template:Sfn where the two men presumably discussed their plans to retake Tyrconnell's lordship. It is also here they may have planned their future attack on Turlough Luineach O'Neill, Tyrone's rival in Tír Eoghain. O'Donnell remained at Tyrone's residence for four days, hidden in a secret chamber to avoid corrupting Tyrone's loyalist public image. Afterwards, O'Donnell was received by Maguire, who conveyed him to the border of Tyrconnell.Template:Sfn
Not long before his return, Willis and Connill's forces occupied Donegal Abbey as a garrison.Template:Sfn O'Donnell quickly rallied his family's followers to Ballyshannon Castle, one of his few major strongholds not dispossessed by the Crown.Template:Sfn As soon as Chief Donough MacSweeney Banagh heard of O'Donnell's safe return, he attacked Willis, forcing him and his soldiers into Donegal Abbey.<ref>Template:Harvnb. fn 7. "MacSwiny Banagh attacked [Willis] as soon as Hugh O'Donnell reached Donegal."; Template:Harvnb. "[Willis] was levying tribute in Tyrconnell, and was attacked by MacSweeny, as soon as ever the latter had heard of Roe's safe arrival. Willis betook himself to the monastery..." O'Sullivan Beare subsequently names Donough MacSweeny as "Chief of Banagh".</ref> In February, O'Donnell expelled the English troops from Tyrconnell.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn Subsequently his big toes were amputated by surgeons due to frostbite.Template:Sfn He remained ill and in recovery for a year.Template:Sfn
Inauguration
On 23 April 1592 at Kilmacrennan Friary,Template:Sfnm 19-year-old O'Donnell was inaugurated as O'Donnell clan chief before an audience of his family and their supporters.Template:Sfn The inauguration ceremony was part-religious and part-secular,Template:Efn and involved the O'Donnell clan's ornamental inauguration stone.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn Hugh McManus's apparently voluntary abdication was stage-managed by Iníon Dubh, who remained the "head of advice and counsel" in Tyrconnell.Template:Sfn O'Donnell's younger brother Rory was appointed as tanist.<ref name="RO" />
The major surviving opponents to O'Donnell's succession—including Niall Garbh, Hugh McHugh Dubh and Sean O'Doherty—did not attend the inauguration out of protest. At the time, Niall Garbh was in Dublin unsuccessfully seeking support from authorities.Template:Sfn Tomás G. Ó Canann noted that, as O'Donnell failed to secure the attendance of such a significant chunk of the Cenél Conaill, his inauguration was arguably illegitimate.Template:Sfn
Rise in power
Immediately after his inauguration, O'Donnell and Tyrone mounted raids against Turlough Luineach, who had provided assistance to O'Donnell's rivals such as Niall Garbh. O'Donnell desired revenge and sought to assist his new ally Tyrone,Template:Sfn whose alliance with O'Donnell was primarily founded on using his military power to take control of Tír Eoghain.Template:Sfn In June 1592, O'Donnell renewed his clan's interest in north Connacht by supporting a revolt among the lower MacWilliam Bourkes,Template:Sfn to the chagrin of Lord President Richard Bingham.Template:Sfn O'Donnell imposed his control over Tyrconnell. He dispelled bandits from Barnesmore Gap, established an execution site at Mullaghnashee beside Ballyshannon Castle, and took pledges from all nobles wealthy enough to maintain four horsemen.Template:Sfn
After some convincing, O'Donnell accompanied Tyrone to Dundalk to submit to FitzWilliam.Template:Sfn During their meeting, held in a church on 2 August 1592, Tyrone bribed FitzWilliam with a jewel worth £500 so O'Donnell could secure government recognition.Template:Sfnm O'Donnell made various agreements with FitzWilliam: he pledged his loyalty to Elizabeth I, agreed to receive a Sheriff in Tyrconnell, promised to pay his father's covenanted rents,Template:Sfn to treat his rivals (O'Doherty, Niall Garbh and Hugh McHugh Dubh) fairly, to banish Catholic clergy from Tyrconnell, and to avoid supporting the MacWilliam Bourkes in Connacht.Template:Sfn O'Donnell negotiated to retain about 100 redshanks in Tyrconnell for use as his mother's bodyguards. After the meeting, the two Hughs feasted at Dungannon where they further discussed their developing alliance.Template:Sfn
Tyrone's daughter Rose was escorted to Tyrconnell in expectation of her marriage to O'Donnell.Template:Sfn The historian Morwenna Donnelly suggests that Tyrone was putting pressure on O'Donnell to complete their clans' alliance.Template:Sfn The couple were formally married during Christmas-time 1592 at O'Donnell's house.Template:Sfnm The marriage started out as a success with Rose having some measure of influence over O'Donnell.Template:Sfn
Despite his promises to FitzWilliam, O'Donnell subjugated his rivals. Sean O'Doherty was captured at a parley and imprisoned; only then did he acknowledge O'Donnell's lordship. In early 1593, O'Donnell obtained Hugh McHugh Dubh's submission by taking his last stronghold at Belleek and beheading sixteen of his followers by pretending to sign a treaty of friendship.Template:Sfn This sufficiently intimidated Niall Garbh and he submitted to his younger cousin.Template:Sfn He was forced to turn over control of Lifford's castle, though his ambitions to seize the lordship remained.Template:Sfn With the Tyrone-O'Donnell alliance against him, Turlough Luineach surrendered his lordship in May 1593.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Tyrone took control of Tír Eoghain, making both O'Donnell and his father-in-law the rulers of Gaelic Ulster's two major kingdoms.Template:Sfn
Initial rebellion
Conference of bishops
By late 1592 the Crown's continual advances into Ireland, as well as the recent executions of chieftains Hugh Roe MacMahon in 1590 and Brian O'Rourke in 1591 had created a fierce resentment in the Gaelic nobility and Irish Catholic clergy.Template:Sfnm Catholic priests were suffering harassment and imprisonment from English authorities, and Spain had been a refuge to the Irish Catholic clergy since the 1570s.Template:Sfn Archbishop Edmund MacGauran returned from Spain with promises from King Philip II to support oppressed Irish Catholics if they proved themselves by launching prior military action.Template:Sfnm In December, a conference of seven northern bishops met in Tyrconnell. O'Donnell pledged his support to the Irish Catholic cause, and as a leading force of the emerging confederacy he began to work with MacGauran to secure Spanish support.Template:Sfn On 29 March 1593, O'Donnell wrote to Irish nobles living in Spain, saying they could not hold out for long against the Crown without Philip II's backing.Template:Sfn
Maguire's revolt
Humphrey Willis was appointed by FitzWilliam as Sheriff of Fermanagh against Maguire's will. In early April 1593, Willis entered Fermanagh with at least 100 men and began violently raiding. This exacerbated resentment towards the Crown, and after Willis' first offensive,Template:Sfn O'Donnell met with MacGauran, Maguire, Brian Oge O'RourkeTemplate:Sfn and Theobald, Richard and John Bourke at Enniskillen Castle on 28 April. MacGauran advised the noblemen to sign a letter to Philip II which emphasised their oppression and requested urgent reinforcements from the Spanish army. The Archbishop of Tuam, James O'Hely, was tasked with delivering the confederates' messages: two letters from O'Donnell, one letter from MacGauran, and the 28 April letter signed by the confederates.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn Maguire obtained reinforcements from Tyrone's brother and foster-brothers, who were likely involved on Tyrone's behalf, and forced Willis and his men from Fermanagh.Template:Sfnm Maguire's revolt marked the start of the Nine Years' War.Template:Sfnm
Historians have debated O'Donnell's position within the confederacy.Template:Efn Historians Nicholas Canny, Michael Finnegan, John J. Silke and Darren McGettigan credit O'Donnell as the confederacy's driving force until Tyrone's break into open rebellion.<ref>Template:Harvnb: cites Canny; Template:Harvnb: cites Silke and Finnegan; Template:Harvnb.</ref> Historians Hiram Morgan and James O'Neill have disputed this by emphasising that Tyrone was a more important figure who hid his allegiance to the confederacy for strategic reasons.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The Sheriff of Monaghan alleged Tyrone had attended the meeting at Enniskillen Castle,Template:Sfnm though Tyrone did not sign MacGauran's letter.Template:Sfn Around August 1593, Maguire stated to a spy that Tyrone had pushed him into rebellion and "promised to assist him and bear him out in his war".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Many of Tyrone's British contemporaries, such as Perrot and Geoffrey Fenton, considered O'Donnell to be the junior partner in the confederacy.<ref>Template:Harvnb, fn. 46: Fenton; Template:Harvnb: Perrot.</ref> O'Hely reached the Spanish court by September 1593,Template:Sfnm where he met with royal secretary Juan de Idiáquez. In Idiáquez's notes to Philip II, he notes the early confederates wanted Tyrone to join them in open rebellion, though it appears Tyrone refused to publicly defy the Crown without reassurances on the arrival of Spanish reinforcements.Template:Sfn
Secret rebellion
Catholic bishops spread the Aodh Eangach prophecy to advance the Irish rebellion.Template:Sfn Maguire and O'Rourke continued to rebel by attacking English forces. O'Donnell aided the growing rebellion by sending MacSweeney gallowglass,Template:Sfn but publicly he feigned neutrality.Template:Sfn He lacked sufficient forces to combat a direct assault from English forces; he also faced pressure from his father-in-law to likewise appear publicly loyal to the Crown.<ref name="2013b">Template:Citation</ref> O'Donnell used the chiefdoms of Maguire and O'Rourke as a buffer against Bingham's forces. He also advised Maguire and sheltered his creaghts on Tyrconnell's borders.Template:Sfn MacGauran was killed on 23 June 1593 whilst accompanying Maguire on a raid.Template:Sfn In September, O'Donnell sent his mother to Scotland to secure further Scottish troops.Template:Sfn
Maguire's rebellious activity provoked a large-scale military expedition led by Marshal Henry Bagenal which culminated at the Battle of Belleek in October.Template:Sfn Tyrone fought on Bagenal's side ostensibly to prove his loyalty to the Crown.Template:Sfnm O'Donnell was in nearby Ballyshannon when the battle was taking place, but he was ordered by Tyrone not to reinforce Maguire. The battle was a ploy to make the confederacy seem weaker than it actually was, thus diverting English attention away from Ireland. O'Donnell partially disobeyed Tyrone's order and sent 60 horsemen, 60 swordsmen and 100 gallowglass under the command of Niall Garbh. Historian James O'Neill argues O'Donnell intentionally dispatched the antagonistic Niall Garbh to Belleek hoping he would die in the slaughter. Bagenal's forces won the battle.Template:Sfn Despite the successful ploy, the battle was damaging to O'Donnell. Many of the gallowglass were killed and Niall Garbh survived. To placate the Crown's victorious army, O'Donnell sent 115 cattle to the English camp as a gift.Template:Sfn
A letter from O'Donnell was later found on the corpse of a Redshank captain killed in the battle.Template:Sfn By November 1593, Bingham was aware O'Donnell was secretly assisting Maguire and O'Rourke.Template:Sfn The Crown demanded Tyrone bring O'Donnell under control,Template:Sfn and in March 1594, the two men met with government commissioners near Dundalk. O'Donnell professed "his ancestors had always been loyal to her majesty, and so he would continue but stood in danger of his life and feared practices would be used against him". Tyrone submitted a list of his and O'Donnell's grievances, but the talks ended in confusion when O'Donnell threatened to kill some of Tyrone's English friends.Template:Sfn Afterwards government commissioners surmised a confederacy had been established between the Ulster lords.Template:Sfn In March 1594, Philip II sent a Spanish ship—containing O'Hely, Spanish experts and Irish émigrés—to Ireland on a reconnaissance mission, but the crew died when it was shipwrecked off the coast of Santander.Template:Sfn
Open rebellion
O'Donnell was aware Tyrconnell would become an easy target if Maguire and O'Rourke's territories were occupied by the English. In February 1594, he demolished castles in Belleek and Bundrowes to prevent English forces from taking them, and he concentrated his forces at Ballyshannon on his mother's advice.Template:Sfn That same month, Captain John Dowdall captured Enniskillen Castle, Maguire's stronghold, after a nine-day siege.Template:Sfn O'Donnell rushed to Maguire's aid, assembling an army and joining Maguire to retake the castle. He stated he "would not leave that siege until he had eaten the last cow in his country".Template:Sfn The castle was blockaded by 11 June, and by late July the English soldiers were suffering from food shortages.Template:Sfn O'Donnell's decision to join the siege of Enniskillen brought his rebellion into the open.Template:Sfnm
O'Donnell encountered resistance from his family, with both his brother Rory and his father Hugh McManus opposing his choice to go to war.Template:Sfn Frustrated with Tyrone's loyalist facade, O'Donnell warned him that "he must consider Tyrone his enemy, unless he came to his aid in such a pinch". Tyrone subsequently sent reinforcements under his brother Cormac MacBaron O'Neill to the Battle of the Ford of the Biscuits.Template:Sfn O'Donnell continued to negotiate through his father-in-law; in August, Tyrone presented the new Lord Deputy, William Russell, with a lengthy document of O'Donnell's grievances and demands. O'Donnell requested a general pardon for himself and his followers, as well as clemency for Maguire, O'Rourke and rebels in County Monaghan. Russell ignored these demands and resupplied Enniskillen castle with 1,200 Irish Army soldiers, comprising most of the troops at his disposal. The English relief mission was successful but ominously peaceful—Russell lost communication with his spies as they had all been captured by confederate soldiers.Template:Sfn By early 1595, Tyrone had finally joined O'Donnell in open rebellion with an assault on the Blackwater Fort.Template:Sfn
Expansion into Connacht
In 1595, O'Donnell began to expand his rebellion into Connacht. His ancestors, particularly his grandfather Manus O'Donnell, had ruled over Lower Connacht, and Hugh Roe O'Donnell increasingly demanded the restoration of these lands.Template:Sfnm Richard Bingham had persecuted Connacht's Gaelic population since the mid-1580s, causing many refugees to flee to Tyrconnell. O'Donnell aided the refugees and recruited many of them as swordsmen. O'Donnell resented Bingham and was "easily tempted" by the refugees, who urged him to attack Bingham's administration. O'Donnell invaded Connacht on 3 March 1595 with 400 men. From Rathcroghan, the province's ancient royal capital,Template:Sfn he launched large raids into Longford and Roscommon. In June 1595, the castle of Sligo, which was key to securing control over the province, was betrayed to O'Donnell "in a stroke of luck"; Bingham's government collapsed. O'Donnell reestablished brehon law and asserted suzerainty over north Connacht.Template:Sfn
By 1595, O'Donnell and his wife were facing difficulties; Rose had not born him children. In order to increase his influence in southern Connacht,Template:Sfn O'Donnell had hopes of a marriage alliance with Lady Margaret Burke, daughter of the neutral 3rd Earl of Clanricarde. With Tyrone's consent, Rose and O'Donnell separated.Template:Sfnm However, the government became aware of his plan to reportedly take Margaret from her parents by surprise or force, and in December she was placed in protective custody.Template:Sfn Additionally Clanricarde stated he would "rather see [Margaret's] burial than her marriage to [O'Donnell] were he a good subject". Tyrone sent his trusted secretary Henry Hovenden to Tyrconnell to advise O'Donnell,Template:Sfn and O'Donnell eventually took Rose back.Template:Sfn His choice to remain in a marriage with no children is representative of his dependence on Tyrone.Template:Sfn
Peace talks
Negotiations with the Crown
Tyrone and O'Donnell sought to delay the war in order to buy time for the arrival of Spanish troops. In September 1595, Tyrone sent overtures of submission to the Crown,Template:Sfn and convinced O'Donnell to agree to a ceasefire.Template:Sfn O'Donnell tendered his submission in October, expressing his "inward sorrow and most harty repentance".Template:Sfn A cessation of arms was signed on 27 October.Template:Sfn O'Donnell took advantage of the truce to intervene in Connacht politics. Accompanied by Cormac MacBaron and Tyrone's son Conn, he led a large force of troops into Mayo in December.Template:Sfn During Christmas-time, O'Donnell stage-managed the election of Connacht exile Tibbot MacWalter Kittagh as the Lower MacWilliam Bourke.Template:Sfn Further elections organised by O'Donnell, spanning four counties, were indicative of his growing power in Connacht.Template:Sfn
In January 1596, O'Donnell and Tyrone entered into face-to-face negotiations with government commissioners.Template:Sfn The two confederates would only meet the commissioners in the open country,Template:Sfn so negotiations were conducted in the countryside near Dundalk.Template:Sfn O'Donnell demanded his ancestral claims of lands in Sligo, exemption from the jurisdiction of a sheriff, and a pardon for Connacht men including O'Rourke and MacWilliam Bourke. Like Tyrone, he demanded religious liberty of conscience.Template:Sfnm The queen warily accepted O'Donnell's claims to lands in Connacht. On 28 January, the commissioners presented O'Donnell with a list of twelve articles. These urged him to disperse his forces, to shire Tyrconnell, to stop aiding O'Rourke and Maguire, to re-edify Sligo Castle, to pay annual rents to the Crown as his father had done, and to confess the extent of his dealings with Spain. O'Donnell rejected certain articles, forcing a compromise. He agreed to terms on 30 January,Template:Sfn and further negotiations to develop a peace treaty were almost complete by May.Template:Sfn
Relations with Spain
In May, three Spanish ships arrived at Tyrconnell with the aim of encouraging the confederates and assessing Ireland's military situation.Template:Sfn Spanish captain Alonso Cobos arrived in Killybegs and was invited by O'Donnell to Lifford, where he was staying.Template:Sfn O'Donnell refused to go into further conversation without Tyrone present, indicating that he regarded Tyrone as his superior at this point.Template:Sfn When the confederates arrived at Lifford, a subsequent dinner took place. The confederates upheld their allegiance to Spain and pleaded for Philip II to re-establish Catholicism across Ireland.Template:Sfn Spanish emissaries noted O'Donnell and his father-in-law "acted like one man and were respected by the rest", though a list of confederates drawn up by Cobos' secretary was altered to place Tyrone's name above O'Donnell's.Template:Sfn
Later on, a secret talk between Cobos and O'Donnell, Tyrone, and Cormac MacBaron occurred in a small house beside Lifford's castle.Template:Sfnm Hugh Boye MacDavitt of Inishowen, a war veteran who had served in the Low Countries, served as their interpreter.Template:Sfn After the meeting, the confederates jointly agreed to abandon the peace treaty and become vassals of Philip II. Tyrone and O'Donnell also petitioned Philip II to make Albert VII, Archduke of Austria, the new Catholic monarch of Ireland.Template:Sfn O'Donnell and his father-in-law began to deliberately derail peace negotiations and provoke war in previously peaceful parts of the country.Template:Sfnm They developed a sophisticated "good cop, bad cop" routineTemplate:Sfn and intentionally used each other's absences to stall peace talks.Template:Sfn Additionally, O'Donnell was ashamed at the sparse nature of his residence and set about purchasing "linen and pewter and all other necessaries fit to entertain the Spaniards".Template:Sfnm
The commissioners were in a weak position due to Elizabeth I's health issues.Template:Sfnm In July, O'Donnell met with Tyrone, O'Rourke and MacWilliam Bourke at Strabane. Together, they issued a letter to Munster's population demanding they adhere to Catholicism and join the confederacy.Template:Sfn In October, Cobos was sent back to Ireland to brief the confederates on the impending 2nd Spanish Armada. Cobos's briefing motivated O'Donnell to make extensive preparations for the arrival of Spanish troops in Tyrconnell.Template:Sfn After much delay, the Armada sailed from Lisbon in late October 1596, though it ended in disaster when a sudden storm claimed over 3,000 lives.Template:Sfn
Elizabeth I reopened negotiations in Dundalk. O'Donnell's biographer Lughaidh Ó Cléirigh states Elizabeth offered to forfeit Ulster to the confederates, with the exception of land from Dundalk to the Boyne. O'Donnell was apparently instrumental in the confederacy's rejection of this offer—he was possibly motivated by Philip II's recently renewed interest in Ireland.Template:Sfn O'Donnell's relationships with Spain and England were complicated by the fact that aging monarchs Philip II and Elizabeth I were both in ill health at the time.Template:Sfn
Renewal of hostilities
Clifford's presidency
Elizabeth I suspended Bingham from the presidency of Connacht. Distinguished soldier Conyers Clifford was made Connacht's chief commissioner in December 1596.<ref name="CC">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> O'Donnell again raided into Connacht in January 1597, sacking Athenry and plundering the suburbs of Galway city.Template:Sfn He was supported by competitors to the Clanricarde title.Template:Sfn Clifford responded by forcing MacWilliam Bourke from Mayo. O'Donnell reinstalled MacWilliam Bourke, but Clifford forced him out again in June.Template:Sfn
Thomas Burgh took over as Lord Deputy in May 1597. Burgh refused to entertain the confederates' excuses and ordered a prompt two-pronged military assault on both Tyrone and O'Donnell.Template:Sfn In July, Clifford assembled 1,500 men at Boyle and led them into Tyrconnell as the western arm of the assault. The royal army besieged Ballyshannon castle for five days, but it was successfully defended by O'Donnell's garrison (which included Spaniards), forcing a retreat.Template:Sfn On 4 September 1597, Clifford was appointed as Connacht's new Lord President.<ref name="CC"/> Lord Deputy Burgh died from illness in October. Despite the confederacy's advantageous position, Tyrone renewed peace negotiations; an eight-week ceasefire was agreed on.Template:Sfn O'Donnell heavily criticised Tyrone's tactic, pointing out that the confederate forces were strong across Leinster, Connacht and Ulster. O'Donnell declared he would break the ceasefire, though he never did.Template:Sfn
Clifford changed tactics following the defeat at Ballyshannon. He encouraged confederates to change sides by promising them royal grants. In February 1598, founding confederacy member O'Rourke submitted at Boyle.<ref name="BO">Template:Cite journal</ref> By April, Clifford had lured at least three confederates to the English side, including O'Donnell's cousin Shane McManus Oge. In response, O'Donnell imprisoned his cousin and executed at least 22 men linked to the turncoats.Template:Sfn Clifford also convinced Rory to serve against his older brother. When this news reached O'Donnell, he had Rory clamped in chains—the brothers' relationship eventually improved and Rory was once again fighting alongside his older brother by 1600.<ref name="RO">Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Sfn O'Donnell captured O'Rourke's brother Teigue and forced him to marry his sister Mary in order to formalise an alliance and antagonise O'Rourke. By June 1598, O'Rourke had rejoined the confederacy in fear.<ref name="BO" />
Battle of the Yellow Ford
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
Government commissioners abandoned negotiations by spring 1598, recognising that O'Donnell and Tyrone were intentionally impeding the peace process.Template:Sfn Tyrone resumed hostilites when the truce expired in June by besieging the Blackwater Fort. Bagenal and his army were dispatched to relieve the fort.Template:Sfn Tyrone called O'Donnell and Maguire to assemble their combined forces numbering 5,000 men. The confederates made extensive plans to obstruct Bagenal's army, preparing deep trenches in the ground outside Armagh. Prior to the attack, the confederates made a speech "to incite their people to acts of valour". On 14 August, Bagenal's army was attacked by O'Donnell, Tyrone and Maguire's combined forces. O'Donnell attacked from the left and Tyrone from the right simultaneously.Template:Sfn Bagenal was killed and roughly 2,000 men (half his army) were lost.Template:Sfnm O'Donnell's men ran out of ammunition and the English survivors fled to Armagh. More than 300 English soldiers deserted to the confederacy.Template:Sfn
The battle was the greatest victory by Irish forces against England,Template:Sfnm and it sparked a general revolt throughout the country, particularly in Munster.Template:Sfn News of the battle spread across western Europe, prompting Philip II to send congratulatory letters to O'Donnell and Tyrone. Unfortunately for the confederacy, Philip II died in September and was succeeded by his son Philip III.Template:Sfn Following the battle, O'Donnell purchased Ballymote Castle from Clan MacDonagh and made it his primary residence. He also organised an attack on the O'Malleys in County Mayo. In December, O'Donnell led another successful raid into Clanricarde.Template:Sfn
The confederates' victory unravelled much of Clifford's success in Connacht, leaving loyalist Donough O'Connor Sligo (lord of Lower Connacht) as his only Gaelic Irish ally.<ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> The Irish victory at the Yellow Ford was highly distressing to the English Privy Council, and after much hesitation Elizabeth I appointed her royal favourite, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, as the new Lord Deputy. He arrived at Dublin in April 1599. Despite the generous resources afforded to him, Essex's campaign was a major failure on account of his poor generalship.Template:Sfn
Battle of Curlew Pass
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
In July 1599, Essex sent O'Connor Sligo to confront O'Donnell. In response, O'Donnell quickly laid siege to O'Connor Sligo's stronghold, Collooney Castle. Essex then ordered Clifford to relieve O'Connor Sligo,Template:Sfn and Clifford subsequently led an expedition of 1,400 men towards Collooney Castle.Template:Sfn O'Donnell left Niall Garbh to continue the siege and he took up a position in the Curlew Mountains, where he remained for two months, deliberately provoking Clifford. In August, Clifford finally gave in and marched his troops into the Curlew Mountains. O'Donnell made a dramatic speech and prepared his men.Template:Sfn
Once O'Donnell's brothers had lured Clifford's army into a prepared position, O'Donnell and O'Rourke (who was camped nearby) ambushed Clifford's forces in a swift battle.Template:Sfn The English panicked and were routed back to Boyle Abbey. 240 English soldiers were killed, including Clifford who was stabbed by a pike. After the battle, O'Rourke decapitated Clifford and gave the head to O'Donnell. When O'Donnell presented Clifford's severed head to O'Connor Sligo, the latter surrendered Collooney Castle.Template:Sfn The queen and her secretary of state Robert Cecil were shocked by the Irish victory.Template:Sfn The victory is viewed as a highlight of O'Donnell's career, though contemporary sources credit O'Rourke and Conor McDermot with the battle's success.Template:Sfnm
O'Donnell forced O'Connor Sligo to join the confederacy, and he gave O'Connor Sligo a lot of oxen, horses, cattle and corn to re-establish himself in lower Connacht. However, he threatened O'Connor Sligo with imprisonment on an island in Lough Eske if he did not cooperate. By this time Iníon Dubh had been in Scotland for two months gathering redshanks—as Clifford's forces had been easily defeated, O'Donnell notified his mother the redshanks were unnecessary, and she returned to Tyrconnell in January 1600 with gunpowder instead. O'Donnell followed the victory at Curlew Pass with a successful battle at the Ballaghboy Pass.Template:Sfn
Quarrels with Tyrone
By the late 1590s, O'Donnell's relationship with his father-in-law was coming under strain,Template:Sfn not least because of the breakdown of O'Donnell's marriage to Rose. In April 1597, it was reported O'Donnell had recently renewed his alliance with Tyrone by his "receiving of the earl's base daughter" in marriage.Template:Sfn By 1598, O'Donnell and Rose had divorced—likely against Tyrone's wishes—and Rose had remarried to Tyrone's principal vassal Donnell Ballagh O'Cahan. O'Donnell reportedly divorced Rose due to her "barronness",Template:Sfnm though Donnelly has questioned this truthfulness of this explanation, considering that O'Donnell did not immediately remarry to ensure an heir.Template:Sfn
The confederacy leaders argued over the division of money and munitions sent from Spain. Tyrone typically demanded the superior portion; when munitions arrived in 1596, Tyrone took twenty firkins of gunpowder compared to O'Donnell receiving fifteen. This came to a head in mid-1599 when a debate ensued over the unequal division of a delivery brought by Barrionuevo. Tyrone strongly objected when O'Donnell's claimed he was owed more resources in view of his recent victories and his riskier approach to warfare. An Irish bishop, brought in as a mediator, ruled in O'Donnell's favour. Subsequently a treaty of equality was established between the two confederates, which decreed "one had no pre-eminence over the other and that in walking and travelling together whichever was the elder should be on the right hand".Template:Sfn
Tyrone refused to fight Essex's dwindling forces; instead the two men parleyed on 7 September 1599 and a six-week truce was organised.Template:Sfn O'Donnell was furious at Tyrone's decision to negotiate with Essex, as he wanted to avoid any association with English officials in favour of soliciting aid from the Spanish. He declared he would travel into Connacht, but Tyrone forbid him on account of the truce. O'Donnell admitted he would burn the entire Pale if not for Tyrone preventing him.Template:Sfn Essex left Ireland on 24 September and was shortly afterwards removed from his post. His downfall briefly put the confederacy in a strong position.Template:Sfn In February 1600, Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy, arrived in Ireland as the new Lord Deputy. Mountjoy posed a major threat to the confederacy as he immediately began revitalising and restoring confidence in the royal army.Template:Sfnm
In early 1600, commander Hugh Maguire was shot and killed near Cork. His lordship was contested by rival claimants Cúconnacht Maguire (his younger half-brother) and Connor Roe Maguire. Tyrone favoured Connor Roe's accession, perhaps to ensure Connor Roe's loyalism was kept in check. O'Donnell favoured Cúconnacht, and a debate ensued on how to resolve the succession crisis. At a banquet at Tyrone's house in Dungannon, with Tyrone and both claimants present, O'Donnell addressed Cúconnacht as the new Maguire clan chief. O'Donnell's fait accompli affronted Tyrone and created further tension between the confederates.Template:Sfnm
In April 1600, a Spanish ship arrived in Ireland bearing considerable supplies of munitions for the confederacy.Template:Sfn Tyrone and O'Donnell stimulated the Irish-Spanish alliance by sending pledges to Spain; Tyrone sent his son Henry, and O'Donnell sent the sons of O'Doherty and O'Gallagher.Template:Sfn
Forced from Tyrconnell
Niall Garbh's defection
In May 1600, English commander Henry Docwra established an English garrison in Derry.Template:Sfnm O'Donnell made multiple attacks on Docwra's forces, almost killing Docwra on 29 July. Despite constant Irish attacks and poor conditions at the garrison, Docwra managed to maintain his position,Template:Sfn which led to further tension between O'Donnell and Tyrone.Template:Sfnm The prospects of Docwra's mission depended on winning over disaffected confederates, Niall Garbh being the most important.Template:Sfnm Docwra and Niall Garbh began secretly communicating. By August, Niall Garbh had sent his list of demands, the principal of which was to rule Tyrconnell like his grandfather Calvagh. Docwra promised to obtain Niall Garbh a royal grant of Tyrconnell if he served against his cousin.Template:Sfn
In September, O'Donnell left Ulster for a raid in Thomond, entrusting Niall Garbh to besiege Derry.Template:SfnmTemplate:Efn Whilst O'Donnell was in Ballymote, Niall Garbh and his followers murdered Niall Garbh's uncle Neachtan in a drunken rage. Neachtan was "a man of great authority with [O'Donnell] and all his country".Template:Sfn Fearing O'Donnell's revenge, Niall Garbh—alongside his three brothers and about 100 soldiers—quickly defected to the English. They joined Docwra on 3 October.Template:Sfn O'Donnell was "dumb-stricken" to hear of Niall Garbh's betrayal and could not drink or sleep for three days. He immediately hurried to secure Lifford Castle to retain control over Lough Foyle.Template:Sfn Niall Garbh and an English force stormed Lifford Castle on 9 October, taking it from O'Donnell's brother Rory.Template:Sfn<ref name="RO"/> O'Donnell subsequently blamed Tyrone for wasting confederate resources at the Battle of Moyry Pass.Template:Sfn
O'Donnell's sister Nuala separated from Niall Garbh due to his defection.Template:Sfn According to a February 1601Template:Sfnm report by Docwra, O'Donnell was so outraged by his brother-in-law's defection he ordered mass hangings of Niall Garbh's followers. He personally killed Niall Garbh and Nuala's four-year-old child, his own nicece or nephew, by bashing the child's brains out against a post.Template:Sfn This accusation is considered contentious among historians.<ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> Docwra's biographer John McGurk acknowledges the uncertainty of the report's truthfulness, and notes it is unclear where Docwra received this intelligence. He points out Docwra's "blunt" personality indicates he reported current affairs accurately, and also admits infanticide was a feature of warfare in the early modern period.Template:Sfn Morgan notes since this is a contemporary account, it should not be dismissed out of hand.Template:Sfn
Battle of Lifford
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
_(cropped).png){kind=link}
O'Donnell tried in vain to retake Lifford from Niall Garbh, with minor skirmishes occurring around the castle.Template:Sfn He lost about 20 men on 17 October 1600. He attacked again on 24 October,Template:Sfn but Niall Garbh retaliated by leading a cavalry charge of mixed Irish and English forces out to battle.Template:Sfnm During the battle, Niall Garbh speared O'Donnell's brother Manus in the shoulder.Template:Sfnm Manus was taken to Donegal where he died from his wounds.O'Donnell's father Hugh McManus died a few weeks afterwards, apparently from grief. They were buried beside each other at Donegal Abbey, as was customary for the ruling O'Donnell branch.Template:Sfn<ref name="dddd"/>
Docwra was pleased Manus's death had exacerbated the feud between O'Donnell and Niall Garbh.Template:Sfn By December 1600, O'Donnell had put a price of £300 on Niall Garbh's head.Template:Sfn It appears Niall Garbh made later efforts to rejoin the confederacy, but his murder of Manus made this near-impossible.Template:Sfn His defection allowed Docwra to mobilise the Crown's forces beyond Lough Foyle into Tyrconnell, Inishowen and even Tír Eoghain.Template:Sfn In addition to his skill as a guide across Tyrconnell, Niall Garbh informed Docwra of his cousin's tactics.Template:Sfnm
Political alliances collapse
O'Donnell made further plans to cement his alliances beyond Ulster. In November 1600, he schemed to marry Joan FitzGerald, the step-daughter of O'Connor Sligo and sister of the loyalist 1st Earl of Desmond. A servant met with Joan in Limerick to convince her for the marriage, but Joan rejected the match.Template:Sfnm O'Donnell became frustrated by the Spanish government's failure to send the desired military resources. When a Spanish ship arrived around the time of the new year, O'Donnell was angered when he learnt about no forthcoming aid. He wanted to go to Spain immediately, and he might have had the Spanish captain allowed him.Template:Sfn
The death of Sean O'Doherty in early January 1601 led to a succession dispute. O'Donnell was bribed into inaugurating Sean's half-brother, and his own first cousin, Phelim Og O'Doherty as successor. This outraged the foster family of Cahir, Sean's eldest son, and they opened negotiations with Docwra to secure the lordship. O'Donnell attempted revenge by invading Inishowen with 1,500 men, but 40 of his men were killed and he retreated.Template:Sfn
Both Docwra and O'Donnell's conduct of war was vicious; soldiers and civilians on either side were summarily executed (including Bishop Redmond O'Gallagher). In February 1601, Docwra noted O'Donnell was regularly hanging individuals of otherwise good standing at the slightest cause for suspicion.Template:Sfnm When O'Donnell discovered O'Connor Sligo was plotting with Mountjoy in early 1601, he imprisoned O'Connor Sligo in Lough Eske Castle's prison.Template:Sfnm Docwra plundered and garrisoned Rathmullan. By April, five of O'Donnell's major allies, including Chiefs MacSweeney Banagh and Fanad, were preparing to submit to Docwra. By the end of 1601, only the immediate families of O'Donnell and Hugh McHugh Dubh remained loyal to the confederacy. Ballyshannon Castle became a safe haven for masses of women and children. Others took refuge in Lower Connacht.Template:Sfn In late October 1601, O'Donnell's mother Iníon Dubh, plus one of his sisters, were taken prisoner in Collooney Castle.Template:Sfnm
Siege of Donegal
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
On 18 March 1601, the government recognised Niall Garbh as the rightful chief of the O'Donnell clan. Hugh Roe O'Donnell marched on Lifford in April 1601, forcing Niall Garbh and his forces to temporarily retreat to Derry.Template:Sfn Following the Earl of Clanricarde's death in May, O'Donnell concentrated his forces at Ballymote in anticipation of an attack from Clanricarde's successor. This allowed Niall Garbh to take Donegal Abbey<ref name="dunlop1894">Template:Cite DNB</ref> in August and occupy it as a garrison, installing 500 English troops.Template:Sfnm His hold over Donegal was his greatest blow against O'Donnell; it virtually prevented O'Donnell from entering Tyrconnell and led to a month-long siege.Template:Sfn The siege climaxed on 19 September,Template:Sfnm when a fire in the garrison's store detonated several barrels of gunpowder and caused the abbey to collapse.Template:Sfn O'Donnell hurriedly ordered his men to attack, leading to a chaotic engagement amidst the burning abbey. Niall Garbh's defeat seemed certain, but the loyalist forces held out until a relief force arrived and forced O'Donnell to call off the attack.Template:Sfnm Many of Niall Garbh's troops were killed during the battle, including his brother Conn Oge.Template:Sfn
Niall Garbh was so unsettled by his losses at the siege that, with Docwra's permission, he began negotiating with O'Donnell to became his tanist. Niall Garbh's conditions were so numerous that O'Donnell discarded negotiations.Template:Sfn
Siege of Kinsale
Throughout 1601, Philip III was focused on dispatching an armed expedition to Ireland to improve his position in the Anglo-Spanish War.Template:Sfn Under the command of General Juan del Águila, the 4th Spanish Armada finally landed and was besieged by English forces inside the port town of Kinsale—virtually the opposite end of Ireland from Ulster—on 21 September 1601.Template:Sfnm O'Donnell was energised by the news of the Spanish expedition's long-awaited arrival and he called his forces to abandon their siege of Niall Garbh's forces.Template:Sfn He set out for Kinsale from Ballymote in late OctoberTemplate:Efn with about 2,000 men.Template:Sfn O'Donnell's men carried two garrons loaded with Spanish silver on their march; this was to impress his wealth and wisdom upon locals he encountered.Template:Sfnm Tyrone's forces began their separate march towards Kinsale a week later.Template:Sfnm O'Donnell's army marched through Connacht to the River Shannon, where they were joined by Chief John Og McCoughlan and Captain Richard Tyrrell.Template:Sfnm Marching onwards they reached Druim-Saileach in County Tipperary, where the troops stopped for twenty days to plunder the neighbouring territories.Template:Sfn O'Donnell visited Holy Cross Abbey on Saint Andrew's Day where he venerated its relic of the True Cross. He also dispatched an expedition to Ardfert, which included his nephew Donal Oge, to recover the territory of confederacy ally Thomas Fitzmaurice.Template:Sfnm Carew attempted to intercept O'Donnell on 7 November but O'Donnell eluded him by passing through a defile in the Slieve Felim Mountains. O'Donnell's forces regrouped in Connelloe, County Limerick, and finally united with Tyrone at Bandon on 15 December.Template:Sfn
The Crown's army was trapped in Kinsale between the Irish and the Spaniards.Template:Sfnm Juan del Águila urged for a prompt combined attack, but Tyrone and O'Donnell were apparently conflicted in their preferred strategy.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn Pressure from the Spaniards was mounting and the confederates had their reputations on the line.Template:Sfn Whatever the reason, Tyrone abandoned his characteristically cautious approach and agreed to an attack. At dawn on 24 December 1601, Tyrone's forces of 4,000 men took their position. Mountjoy spotted the soldiers and ordered an immediate attack.Template:Sfn Tyrone retreated but Mountjoy's cavalry charge routed the confederate soldiers; 1,200 were killed and 800 were wounded.Template:Sfn O'Donnell and his rearguard had become lost in the heavy morning fog and were too far off to aid Tyrone. The sight of butchered Irish forces demoralised O'Donnell's soldiers, and many fled despite O'Donnell's commands to stay and fight. O'Donnell's forces were lightly engaged but Tyrone's forces suffered the greatest losses.Template:Sfn The defeat at Kinsale was a fatal blow for the confederacy and destroyed what remained of O'Donnell's military strength. Niall Garbh was left as the de facto ruler of Tyrconnell.Template:Sfnm
Travel to Spain
Meeting with Philip III
The defeated confederates gathered at Innishannon. Tyrone was strongly in favour of attempting another siege, but was unable to convince O'Donnell,Template:Sfn who was in a state of nervous breakdown.Template:Sfnm According to Ó Cléirigh, his followers feared he was on the verge of death. He became determined to travel to Spain to secure reinforcements from Philip III.Template:Sfn Having been forced from Tyrconnell, O'Donnell had no property in Ulster to return to.Template:Sfn In his absence, he appointed Rory as commander of his forces.Template:Sfn
O'Donnell left Castlehaven on 27 December 1601 with General Pedro de Zubiaur. He was accompanied by Archbishop Florence Conroy, Maurice MacDonough Ultach, Redmond Burke and Captain Hugh Mostian. They arrived in Luarca on 3 January 1602 after travelling through a stormy passage. They were welcomed to A Coruña by Luis de Carillo, the governor of Galicia and Conde de Caracena, who was a political supporter of the confederacy's cause. He offered the group the hospitality of his seaside house.Template:Sfn O'Donnell was also taken to sightsee the Farum Brigantium, where the legendary sons of Milesius left for Ireland.Template:Sfn
Philip III agreed to meet with O'Donnell on the recommendation of his advisors; O'Donnell and his countrymen were escorted to Zamora to meet the king.Template:Sfn When he arrived in the king's presence, O'Donnell knelt before him and vowed not to rise until three requests were granted:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
1. To send a Spanish army (with O'Donnell) to Ireland;
2. To make O'Donnell the most powerful noble in Ireland, once it had been conquered by Spain;
3. To protect the rights of his clan and his successors.{{#if:|
|}}{{#if:|
— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries
}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}
Philip III agreed and bade O'Donnell to rise.Template:Sfnm During O'Donnell's time at the Spanish court, he met with Tyrone's son Henry, who was also his own half-nephew.Template:Sfn He was treated for a bubonic plague sore by Tyrconnell physician Nial O'Glacan.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> He also spent much of his time working with Archbishop Mateo de Oviedo to assemble a case against Juan del Águila. The Spanish Council of State reported to the King "[O'Donnell's] zeal and loyalty should be highly praised... He should be assured that His Majesty regards the Irish Catholics as his subjects." Philip III granted O'Donnell a generous pension and ordered him to return to A Coruña to supervise the planned naval reinforcements.Template:Sfn
Cancelled naval expedition
O'Donnell returned to A Coruña on 16 February, by which time he received news of Juan del Águila's surrender, which was not unexpected. O'Donnell wrote to the King two days later, begging him to focus his attention on sending the discussed naval expedition to Ireland. Although O'Donnell would have been content with a small-scale expedition sent to Tyrconnell, Philip III wanted to send a large fleet—three times the size of the 4th Armada—to ensure military success and restore his damaged reputation. Due to the time it would take to assemble a force of this size, O'Donnell was left anxiously waiting in Spain.Template:Sfn Meanwhile, the confederacy disintegrated as English forces travelled across Ulster destroying crops and livestock. In June 1602, Tyrone burned Dungannon and retreated into Glenconkeyne.Template:Sfn O'Donnell kept in contact with Ireland during this time—he wrote to one confederate "if there is anything bad it may be concealed from the Spaniard, but not from me".Template:Sfn
Throughout 1602, O'Donnell was placated with promises that the Spanish fleet was being gradually assembled.Template:Sfn He insistently asked to return to court to discuss the military situation.Template:Sfn In March, O'Donnell was alarmed by the Duke of Lerma's suggestion that O'Donnell could be sent back to Ireland with only one ship and 50,000 ducats. On 10 June, O'Donnell wrote to Philip III: "I am weary of seeing how I am wasting my time here, and I fear that things are going on badly at home".Template:Sfn By July it became clear that, due to delays, the envisioned fleet would not be ready until the next year.Template:Sfn On 23 July, the ships already prepared at A Coruña were sent towards South America on an unrelated mission.Template:Sfn O'Donnell's companions reported he was gripped "by an extreme melancholia and disgust... he saw the whole [Spanish] army suddenly diverted... without even a mention being made of Ireland".Template:Sfnm Philip III permitted O'Donnell to meet with him, and O'Donnell left A Coruña on 26 July to go to Simancas.Template:Sfnm
Death and burial
O'Donnell arrived at the Castle of Simancas on around 31 July.Template:Sfn By 14 August he was extremely ill.Template:Sfnm He was attended by Irish doctor John Noonan; the guilty king also sent his own physician, Álvarez, to the castle.Template:Sfnm O'Donnell was aware he was dying.Template:Sfn He received the last ritesTemplate:Sfn and was attended by Archbishop Conroy and two Franciscans, Maurice MacDonough Ultach and Maurice MacSean Ultach.Template:Sfn
O'Donnell made his will on 28 August, whilst on his deathbed.Template:Sfn He dictated his will in Irish, but Conroy translated it into Castilian Spanish for the notary.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn O'Donnell was in an extremely weak physical condition and could only blot the page when attempting to sign his signature.Template:Sfnm He warned against news of his death reaching Ireland before Spanish reinforcements arrived, as he believed the news would demotivate the confederacy and lead to a peace treaty with England. O'Donnell was content to be a vassal of the Spanish king if the Gaelic chiefs could keep their power over Ireland, which would effectively make Ireland a Spanish colony.<ref name="NA">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He bequeathed his estates and vassals to his younger brother Rory.Template:Sfnm
After sixteen days of bedridden suffering,Template:Sfnm Hugh Roe O'Donnell died at the Castle of SimancasTemplate:Sfnm on 30 August 1602.Template:SfnmTemplate:Efn He was 29 years of age,Template:Sfnm and left no children.Template:Sfn The same evening, his body was taken to Valladolid in a four-wheeled hearse "with blazing torches and bright flambeaux of beautiful waxlights blazing all round on each side of it". The elaborate procession was attended by Philip III, state officers and council members.Template:Sfnm His funeral rites were performed in Valladolid on the morning of 1 September.Template:Sfn Per his will, he was buried in the Convent of St. Francis,Template:Efn in the Chapel of Wonders.<ref name=missinglord>Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Efn
Cause of death
Template:FurtherA now-debunked popular legend claimed O'Donnell was poisoned by Galway merchant James Blake.Template:Sfnm In 1602, Blake approached Lord President Carew with an offer to travel to Spain to assassinate O'Donnell.Template:Sfn However, on 19 August at Valladolid he outlined a detailed plan to the Duke of Lerma for an anti-English military expedition.Template:Sfnm Historians Frederick M. Jones and Micheline Kerney Walsh speculate Blake was secretly a Spanish agent who proposed the mission to secure safe passage to Spain.Template:Sfnm After O'Donnell's death, Blake was arrested in Valladolid on suspicion of being an English spy, but despite extensive interrogation he was never suspected of poisoning O'Donnell.Template:Sfnm None of O'Donnell's companions (nor his physicians) suspected foul play; at the time, his companions credited his anguish over the diplomatic situation with causing his early death.Template:Sfnm Ultimately there is no evidence Blake assassinated O'Donnell.Template:Sfnm Historians dismiss this theory, and generally believe O'Donnell died of illness.<ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb.</ref> Prior to his death he vomited a worm ten measures long.<ref>Template:Harvnb: cites Ludovico Mansoni who clarifies that the worm, initially reported to be 14 measures long, was later measured and found to be 10 measures long; Template:Harvnb.</ref> It was also reported "a kind of snake or serpent was found within him". This could indicate a tapeworm infectionTemplate:Sfn or a cancerous tumour.Template:Sfn
End of the Nine Years' War
With O'Donnell's death, Spanish plans to send further assistance to the confederacy were abandoned.Template:Sfn The Spanish Council of State ignored O'Donnell's request to withhold notice of his death,Template:Sfn believing the confederates "should be undeceived, so that they may be able to make the best terms [with the English] they can, bad as the consequences may be".Template:Sfn
Mountjoy sent Rory news of O'Donnell's death and stated "the war was at an end by his death". Rory convened a council of his advisors. The faction advocating for peace prevailed, though some of Hugh Roe O'Donnell's supporters still refused to believe he was dead. In December, Rory surrendered to Mountjoy at Athlone.Template:Sfn Tyrone went into hiding for several months, but eventually surrendered by signing the Treaty of Mellifont on 30 March 1603, which ended the Nine Years' War.Template:Sfn Furthermore, the Treaty of London in 1604 ended the Anglo-Spanish War.Template:Sfn The historian John McCavitt has stated "had [O'Donnell] lived... It could have changed the course of Irish history forever."<ref name="HI"/>
Legacy
Succession
Hugh Roe O'Donnell was the last undisputed chief of the O'Donnell clan.<ref name=":4">Template:Harvnb.</ref> Rory was created hereditary Earl of Tyrconnell by King James I and granted most of Tyrconnell's lands,Template:Sfn but was required to give up his Gaelic titles and thus was never traditionally inaugurated as the O'Donnell clan chief.Template:Sfn<ref name="RO" /> In his stead, Niall Garbh was inaugurated in April 1603. Niall Garbh and Rory subsequently engaged in land rights disputes up until Rory left Ireland permanently in the Flight of the Earls.Template:Sfn Rory died of illness in 1608,<ref name="RO" /> and the following year Niall Garbh and his eldest son Naghtan were imprisoned in the Tower of London for life.Template:Sfnm Rory's only son, Hugh Albert O'Donnell, spent most of his life in continental Europe and died without children,Template:Sfn making the subsequent line of succession unclear. With the end of the Gaelic order, no successor to the O'Donnell clan meaningfully exists.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn Today, family branches descended from the ruling O'Donnell clan live in Newport, Larkfield and Castlebar, as well as in Spain and Austria.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Historiography
Beatha Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill
Hugh Roe O'Donnell was highly praised by seventeenth-century Irish chroniclers,Template:Sfnm as well as in Irish bardic poetry.Template:Sfn Most notably, the Classical Gaelic biography Beatha Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill (Template:Langx), written between 1616 and 1627 by Lughaidh Ó Cléirigh, is a highly important source about O'Donnell's life.<ref name="beathaadapted">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="oclery">Template:Cite journal</ref> It is possible Ó Cléirigh attended O'Donnell's inaugurationTemplate:Sfn and military expeditions,Template:Sfn and his description of O'Donnell's last days and funeral is based on eyewitness accounts.<ref name="beathaadapted" /> However, Ó Cléirigh altered historical facts to present O'Donnell more favorably,Template:Sfnm and he downplayed Tyrone's role in the war. As a result Beatha has distorted historical interpretation.Template:Sfnm
Gaelic Revival
The dramatic content of O'Donnell's short life, which includes his escape from prison and his early overseas death, has enabled much mythologising of his character.Template:Sfn He is considered an archetypal hero whose personal struggles against Tudor England served as an allegory to represent Ireland's incarceration, escape from British rule and spirit of resistance.<ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb. "[O'Donnell's] personal struggle served as an allegory to explain Ireland's incarceration and escape from imprisoning and oppressive rule."</ref> Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Irish Catholic writers typically favoured O'Donnell over Tyrone.Template:Sfn During the nineteenth-century Gaelic revival, O'Donnell was embraced as a Celtic national hero, to the exclusion of Tyrone, whose "Machiavellian" nature and partially-English cultural identity were viewed as incompatible with Irish nationalism.Template:Sfn
Modern reappraisal
Later historians such as James MacGeoghegan, John Mitchel, Seán Ó FaoláinTemplate:Sfn and Hiram Morgan highlighted Tyrone's role in the confederacy.Template:Sfn In most modern depictions of the Nine Years' War, O'Donnell is portrayed as the junior partner and thus his reputation has been overshadowed by Tyrone's.<ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb.</ref>
The Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill Guild was formed in 1977 to seek O'Donnell's cause for canonization as a saint of the Catholic Church.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The historian James Kelly stated that, in opposition to the image of O'Donnell as a Catholic martyr, O'Donnell was predominantly focused on affirming his clan's regional authority and dynastic aspirations. Kelly argued it was the Crown's expansion into O'Donnell's territory, rather than Catholic persecution, which constituted the major threat to his ambitions.Template:Sfn Morgan considers O'Donnell to be "too Catholic and too violent for today's Ireland",Template:Sfn and also calls O'Donnell "a counter-reformation Irish dynast living in the world of Machiavelli's Prince rather than the cattle-raid of Cooley".Template:Sfn
Commemoration
Ireland
O'Donnell's birthday has been celebrated in County Donegal.<ref name="HB">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="FR">Template:Cite news</ref> O'Donnell and Art MacShane's prison escape is commemorated each January in the Art O'Neill Challenge, an ultramarathon endurance event in which participants retrace the same 55km journey from Dublin to Glenmalure on foot.<ref name="irishexaminer.com" /> A sculpture by Maurice Harron, titled The Gaelic Chieftain, was unveiled in 1999 near Boyle. Overlooking the N4, the sculpture depicts O'Donnell on horseback and commemorates his victory at the battle of Curlew Pass.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
Continental Europe
O'Donnell was commemorated with a 17th-century inscription in San Pietro in Montorio,<ref name="HI" /> the Roman church where Rory, Cathbarr and Tyrone were buried.Template:Sfn In 1991, a commemorative plaque was erected at the Castle of Simancas.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As of 2023, plans are afoot to erect statues of O'Donnell in both Lifford and Simancas.<ref name="HB" /> The proposed twinning of the two towns was passed by the Donegal County Council in March 2024.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Following an unsuccessful dig for O'Donnell's remains, Valladolid has reenacted O'Donnell's funeral procession in 2022, 2023,<ref name="FR" /> and 2024, on the instigation of chairman of the Hispano-Irish Society, Carlos Burgos.<ref name="honours">Template:Cite news</ref> The reenactors wear period costumes and carry an empty casket draped with an Irish tricolour.<ref name="FR" /><ref name="honours" /> It is based on historical records of the real procession.<ref name="HS" />
Search for remains
The Convent of St. Francis was later secularised and O'Donnell's body was disinterred; its current location is unknown.Template:Sfn The Chapel of Wonders was sold and destroyed in 1836 during a wave of monastic expropriations, and its exact location was lost.<ref name=carroll/><ref name=missinglord/> In 2019, Donegal man Brendan Rohan visited Valladolid and persuaded city authorities to conduct a dig for O'Donnell's grave.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="flanagan2020">Template:Cite news</ref> The following year, a week-long excavation of Valladolid's Constitution Street revealed the walls of the Chapel of Wonders underneath a four-storey building.<ref name="flanagan2020"/> On 22 May 2020, archaeologists began a dig inside the chapel's remains.<ref name=missinglord/> A number of modern descendants of O'Donnell's kin were "lined up for DNA tests" to confirm O'Donnell's identity if his remains were found.Template:Sfn There was call for repatriation of O'Donnell's remains if discovered,<ref name="CD">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> even though O'Donnell himself asked to be buried in the Convent of St. Francis in his will.<ref name=missinglord/> It was hoped his skeleton would be easy to identify due to his two missing big toes.<ref name="NA" /><ref name="FR" /> However, many of the skeletons discovered were in a state of decay and did not have any existing feet.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Eventually twenty skeletons were discovered during the dig,<ref name="SC" /><ref name="FR" /><ref name="NA" /> though DNA testing showed they were from an earlier period.<ref name="NA" /><ref name="HS" /> The site has been used for burials for hundreds of years, making O'Donnell's discovery near-impossible.<ref name=carroll>Template:Cite news</ref>
In March 2021, archaeologists believed the Chapel of Wonders extended further beneath the dig site, and went into negotiations to resume the excavation.<ref name="SC">Template:Cite news</ref> The search ended in October 2021.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The media attention garnered by the dig has promoted Hispano-Irish relations.<ref name="honours" /><ref name="HS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Character
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
[O'Donnell] was above middle height, strong, handsome, well-built and of pleasing appearance. His voice was musical. In action he was quick and decisive. He loved justice and was stern with evildoers. He was resolute, faithful to his word and steadfast in time of trial. Maintaining a rigorous military discipline, he led by example in battle. To all he was courteous and affable. He was not married. He was gracious, without pretension.{{#if:|
|}}{{#if:Fr. Donagh O'MooneyTemplate:Sfn|
— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries
}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}Described by Geoffrey Fenton as the "firebrand of all the rebels",Template:Sfn Hugh Roe O'Donnell had an impulsive and bellicose personality.<ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb.</ref> A 1590 bardic poet declared that O'Donnell was an arrogant youth whose imprisonment would help him cultivate values "appropriate to kingship".Template:Sfn His four years in prison instilled within him a profound anti-English stanceTemplate:Sfnm which shaped his aggressive military approach.Template:Sfnm O'Donnell was only anti-English on a political basis, as he willingly purchased English goods and firearms for his own purposes.Template:Sfn He was described in 1601 as wearing English clothing and even going to mass in a "fine English gown",Template:Sfnm though equally he may have worn Spanish attire.<ref name="2020c">Template:Citation</ref>
In contrast to his father-in-law Tyrone, who was known for bribing or elaborately bluffing his way out of trouble,Template:Sfnm O'Donnell preferred military solutions. The two men often clashed over their differing approaches but O'Donnell typically yielded to Tyrone's judgement.Template:Sfn Despite O'Donnell's youth and brash attitude, within eighteen months of his inauguration he had radically changed the situation in West Ulster.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> His detailed notes on the Battle of Moyry Pass also show that he could develop somewhat complex battle plans.Template:Sfn However, the pitfalls of his aggressive approach are evident—he lost over 100 confederate soldiers in an ill-fated 1597 assault on the Blackwater Fort.<ref name="2013b" /> He also failed to anticipate Niall Garbh's betrayal and his poor foresight may have led to the defeat at Kinsale.Template:Sfn Hiram Morgan described O'Donnell as a "gung-ho leader" whose military successes were limited.Template:Sfn
Morwenna Donnelly notes that it is unusual that O'Donnell never remarried after his divorce from Rose. Excluding his rejected proposal to Joan FitzGerald, he appeared uninterested in securing an heir and was in no hurry to marry his bride-to-be Rose following his escape from Dublin. O'Donnell had no known mistresses or illegitimate children,Template:Sfn in stark contrast with Tyrone's four wives.Template:Sfn Donnelly suggests that O'Donnell remained single because he coveted Donnell Gorm's wife, Honora MacSweeney na dTuath (daughter of O'Donnell's foster-father). Another explanation comes from colleague Donagh O'Mooney; he stated that the devoutly Catholic O'Donnell sought to join the Franciscan clergy after the war, which would require clerical celibacy.Template:Sfn
There are no surviving portraits or visual representations of Hugh Roe O'Donnell made in his lifetime.<ref name="GR">Template:Cite news</ref> He presumably had red hair,<ref name="hair">Template:Harvnb "Roe, i.e., Ruadh, from the colour of his complexion or hair."; Template:Harvnb</ref> as adjectives such as ruadh (Irish for red) were commonly employed in Irish names to refer to hair colour.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Ancestry
In popular culture
Poetry
Hugh Roe O'Donnell is referenced in the poems Eirinn a' Gul by William Livingston,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Ceann Salla by James Clarence Mangan,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill by Thomas MacGreevy.<ref name=":5">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Music
- Róisín Dubh, one of Ireland's most popular political songs,<ref>Template:Cite wikisource</ref> is addressed in O'Donnell's voice to his wife Rose.<ref name="mangan">Template:Cite book</ref>
- In 1843, the Young Irelander Michael Joseph MacCann wrote the poem O'Donnell Abú in tribute to O'Donnell.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Hugh Roe O'Donnell is the subject of the Irish ballad If These Stones Could Speak, as featured on the Phil Coulter album Highland Cathedral.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
- For the Seville Expo '92, composer Bill Whelan composed The Seville Suite to commemorate the 390th anniversary of O'Donnell's arrival in Galicia. The suite was commissioned by the Taoiseach's office and was performed by a 50-piece orchestra at the Teatro de la Maestranza on 4 October 1992.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Novels
Novels based on O'Donnell's life (particularly centred on his escape from Dublin Castle) include O'Donel of Destiny (Mary Kiely, 1939),<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Red Hugh, Prince of Donegal (Robert T Reilly, 1957)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and Red Hugh: The Kidnap of Hugh O'Donnell (Deborah Lisson, 1999).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Screen
Hugh O'Donnell was portrayed by English actor Peter McEnery in the 1966 Disney adventure film The Fighting Prince of Donegal, which was based on Robert T. Reilly's 1957 book.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Dominic Moore portrayed O'Donnell in the 2001 RTÉ docudrama The Battle of Kinsale.<ref name=":7">Template:Cite AV media</ref>
Theatre
- On 15 August 1902 in Kilkenny, Captain Otway Cuffe staged a single performance of a masque (titled Hugh Roe O'Donnell) recounting O'Donnell's kidnapping, escape and inauguration. The masque was authored by Standish James O'Grady, produced by Francis Joseph Bigger, and performed by the Neophytes, a north Belfast theatre troupe. It was well-received and formed part of the Gaelic revival movement.Template:Sfn
- O'Donnell is a major character in Brian Friel's 1989 historical play Making History, which focuses on Tyrone reckoning with his own legacy. Peter Gowen portrayed O'Donnell in the original production by Field Day.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Other
- Several Gaelic sports clubs in County Donegal are named after O'Donnell, such as Aodh Ruadh CLG in Ballyshannon<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Red Hughs GAA Club in Killygordon.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
Primary sources
Secondary sources
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Citation
- {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}
- Template:Cite news
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite book
- {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite ODNB
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite bookTemplate:Refend
Further reading
Primary sources
- Template:Cite AFM
- Calendar of the State Papers relating to Ireland. Full scans at Internet Archive: 1586 – 1588, July; 1588, August – 1592, September; 1592, October – 1596, June; 1596, July – 1597, December; 1598, January – 1599, March; 1599, April – 1600, February; 1600, March – October; 1 November, 1600 – 31 July, 1601; 1601-3
- Template:Citation
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
Template:Refend Template:Refbegin
Secondary sources
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite EB1911
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite news
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite book
- {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}Template:Refend
See also
- O'Donnell dynasty
- Irish kings
- Tyrconnell
- County Donegal
- Kings of Tir Connaill
- Early Modern Ireland 1536-1691
- Nine Years' War (Ireland)
External links
- The Life of Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill, transcribed from the Book of Lughaidh Ó Clérigh
- The Hugh O'Donnell Guild
- The O'Donnell Coat of Arms and Family History
Template:S-start Template:S-hou Template:S-reg Template:Succession box Template:S-end
- Pages with broken file links
- 1572 births
- 1602 deaths
- 16th-century Irish people
- 17th-century Irish people
- 16th-century Roman Catholics
- 17th-century Roman Catholics
- Irish chiefs of the name
- Irish escapees
- Irish people of Scottish descent
- Irish rebels
- Irish Roman Catholics
- Irish Servants of God
- Kings of Tír Chonaill
- O'Donnell dynasty
- People of Elizabethan Ireland
- People of the Nine Years' War (Ireland)
- 16th-century Irish nobility